Cooking apparatus with adjustable walls

ABSTRACT

Apparatus can cook foodstuffs with a pot and at least one support assembly adapted to rest atop the pot. The support assembly has a pair of walls. Each of the walls is dependently mounted from the support assembly. The walls are spaced apart an adjustable amount. The support assembly also has a floor hinged to and spanning the pair of walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cooking apparatus, and in particular,to apparatus having adjustable walls.

2. Description of Related Art

There is increased concern about cooking foods thoroughly to eliminatebacteria. At the same time, consumers are interested in reducing the fatcontent in the cooked food below the levels normally associated withfrying.

An efficient and popular method of cooking food is immersion in a heatedliquid. A familiar cooker is a deep fryer where foodstuff is placed in awire basket and lowered into a pot of hot oil. Food can also be cookedin a crock pot, which is typically a ceramic pot heated will electricalheater elements.

When used properly, these devices can kill bacteria, but cannot be usedreadily for many food products. One difficulty with the foregoingcooking devices is that the food products are kept loose. Some foodproducts such as hamburger patties cannot be easily cooked in quantitywhen loosely placed inside such a cooking device. For example, liquidturbulence may break up the patties.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,864 a number of horizontal, parallel plates arestacked together and slide on a number of posts. The plates are normallyseparated by springs but can be driven together by a cam lever to holdmeat patties between the plates. Once secured, the patties can beimmersed in a deep fry cooker. This reference does not allow a simpleadjustment of the cooking space and will drive the plates against thefood based on the force applied by the cam and spring.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,426 a number of parallel shelves are heldtogether by a chain or other device. When hoisted, the shelves separateto admit cheese. When lowered, the shelves collapse to hold the cheesein place. This reference does not concern cooking and does not allowadjustment of the space between shelves. Instead the shelf to shelfspacing is always the same. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,368.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,523 a hollow platform has a number of perforateddividers. Frozen food placed between the dividers can be defrosted byheating water that circulates through the dividers and past the frozenfood. While vertical dividers are shown, the space between them is notadjustable.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,027 shows a divider in the form of a grid that canbe placed in a variety of positions inside a frying basket. While thesize of compartments inside the basket can thus be adjusted, thereference does not disclose an assembly with a hinged floor member. Seealso U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,227.

See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 474,446; 3,282,460; 3,552,297; 4,287,818;4,297,942; 4,548,130; and 5,216,947.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,448 and 4,851,241 show sauces for treating meatproducts. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,466.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved cooking apparatus that cancook foodstuffs safely and efficiently in an adjustable cooking space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating featuresand advantages of the present invention, there is provided an apparatusfor cooking foodstuffs. The apparatus has a pot and at least one supportassembly adapted to rest atop the pot. The support assembly has a floorand a pair of walls. Each of the walls is dependently mounted from thesupport assembly. The walls are spaced apart an adjustable amount. Thefloor is hinged to and spans the pair of walls.

By employing apparatus of the foregoing type, improved equipment isachieved for thoroughly and efficiently cooking foodstuffs. In apreferred embodiment, one wall is affixed to a support assembly.Another, movable wall is suspended from a shaft whose outer ends slidein arcuate slots formed in blocks mounted on the support assembly. Thebottom edges of these two walls are spanned by a floor that is hinged tothe two walls. The hinging is such that as the walls move together orseparate, they remain parallel, although the floor may change its angleof elevation.

In this preferred embodiment, the support assemblies may be inserted orremoved from bays in a lid that rests atop a pot containing a cookingfluid, such as a water-based sauce. Preferably, the pot containselectrical heating coils that are regulated by a thermostat to maintaina desired cooking temperature.

The apparatus may be formed as a small home cooking unit or as a largercommercial unit with many cooking bays. In a top end commercial unit,each cooking assembly in each bay includes a timer for scheduling thecooking interval for each bay. This unit can include perches or shelvesbetween the walls of the support assemblies to allow food products to bevertically stacked without placing the entire weight of the stack on thebottom product.

With the preferred apparatus, food products such as hamburger patties,do not lose their shape, because the opposing walls of the assembly arein contact with the entire surface of the product. This contact isespecially effective for embodiments where the walls are formed as agrid, as opposed to solid material. Moreover, the preferred embodimentis designed to hold the food products at a continuously adjustable rangeof thicknesses. Also, the food products need not be turned, and becausethey are separated, they do not stick together. Additionally, efficiencyis greatly enhanced since the food products can be loaded at the sametime, so they are ready at the same time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above brief description as well as other objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of presently preferredbut nonetheless, illustrative embodiments in accordance with the presentinvention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of cooking apparatus in accordance withprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed, exploded view of a portion of the support assemblyof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is simplified, schematic, end view of the support assembly ofFIG. 1 with the walls maximally separated;

FIG. 3B is simplified, schematic, end view of the support assembly ofFIG. 1 with the walls brought close together;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a cooking apparatus that is an alternate to thatof FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the cookingapparatus of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present apparatus is illustrated as apot 10, which may be a double-walled assembly formed as an innercontainer for holding a cooking fluid and an outer container spacedtherefrom to make the pot 10 safe to touch. In one embodiment the innercontainer is ceramic and the outer container is a metal or plasticshell, although other materials may be used in other embodiments. Thepot has a pair of horizontal handles 12.

In this embodiment pot 10 is 14 inches (35.5 cm) long, 12 inches (30.5cm) wide and about 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall, although other sizes andproportions are contemplated, depending upon the desired capacity,number of cooking bays, the type and number of food products to becooked, etc.

As described further hereinafter, electrical heating coils may be placedbetween the inner container and the outer container. The electricalheating coils may be arranged in a conventional manner with a thermostatand manual controls to regulate the heating effect of these coils.

The pot 10 is fitted with a lid 14 containing four parallel slots orbays 16, although a different number of slots may be employed inalternate embodiments. Lid 14 is shown with a pair of upright handles18, although such handles may be eliminated in alternate embodiments.Lid 14 may be secured to the pot 10 by appropriate fasteners. It ispreferred, however, that lid 14 can be lifted to allow access to theinsides of pot 10 for cleaning.

A support assembly is shown herein as including a plate 20 with anupright handle 22. In this embodiment, plate 20 is 12 inches (30.5 cm)long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide, although other dimensions and proportionscan be used in other embodiments. Plate 20 is preferably metal that isclad with an external, thermally insulating layer making plate 20 safeto touch. It will be appreciated that other heat resistant materials maybe used in alternate embodiments.

A pair of wells 24 and 26 are shown supported by and depending fromplate 20. Walls 24 and 26 are shown as stainless steel grids bordered bythicker stainless steel rods. A pair of members 28 and 30 are shown asslotted blocks, which are attached to the underside of plate 20 bywelding or attachment with appropriate fasteners.

Wall 24 has a rectangular outline and may be 11 inches (28 cm) wide and8 inches (20 cm) tall, although other dimensions and proportions areanticipated for other embodiments. Wall 24 may be attached at its uppercorners to the blocks 28 and 30 and, along its upper edge, to theunderside of plate 20. For this reason, wall 24 has notches 25, allowingthe wall to fit around the blocks 28 and 30. Wall 24 is attached in sucha way to keep it fixed in position relative to plate 20 without shiftingor swinging.

Wall 26 also has a substantially rectangular outline with the samedimensions as wall 24, except for somewhat larger notches 34 located inthe two upper corners of wall 26. The upper edge of wall 26 is attachedto an upper peripheral rod 36. Rod 36 is a shaft having on each end anannular flange 38 bordering a threaded end portion 40. Threaded portion40 is sized to slidably fit inside the arcuate slot 32 in block 28.

Arcuate slot 32 essentially follows a quadrant of a circle extendingbetween opposite corners of the block 28. The upper end of the arcuateslot 32 breaches a vertical edge of block 28 to allow removal of thethreaded end 40 of the shaft 36. Accordingly, the shaft 36 can be movedup and away from (or down and toward) wall 24 by following arcuate slot32. The shaft 36 can be clamped into a desired position along thearcuate slot 32 by a clamping means, shown herein as knob 42. Knob 42may be a plastic handle with an internally threaded metal insert (notshown) sized to screw onto the threaded end 40 of shaft 36. Bytightening knob 42, flange 38 can be pulled against the inside surfaceof the block 28 (same effect at block 30). Thus knob 42 and flange 38grab the block and hold shaft 36 in position.

A floor 44 is shown hinged to the bottom edges of the walls 24 and 26.Floor 44 is shown as a sheet metal panel, preferably 11 inches (28 cm)long and 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, although other dimensions and proportionsare contemplated for other embodiments. Floor 44 has a plurality of tabs46 that are rolled as shown to embrace the lower edge of walls 24 and26. In other embodiments the flow 44 can be hinged to the walls by meansof separate brackets or by conventional hinges.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the wall 26 is shown clamped at an upper extremeposition in arcuate slot 32. In this illustrated position, the wall 26is in its highest position and spaced maximally from wall 24. Positionedin this fashion, the floor 44 is held substantially horizontal. The wall26 can also be lowered to the position shown in FIG. 3B. In thisillustrated position, the wall 26 is in its lowest position, closest towall 24. Also, the floor 44 is shown tilted, forming an oblique anglewith wall 24 and an acute angle with wall 26. By following slot 32, theupper edge of wall 26 stays at a fixed distance from the center 48 ofthe circle defining slot 32. Consequently, wall 26 acts as if it werehinged to a virtual panel that is hinged between center 48 and the upperedge of wall 26. Accordingly, walls 24 and 26 stay parallel and act astwo opposite sides of parallelogram with the other two sides formed byfloor 44 and the above mentioned virtual panel.

The fixed wall 24 is shown in FIG. 3A fitted with a perch 50. Perch 50may be a number of horizontal pins attached to wall 24. Perch 50 acts asa shelf so that food products 52 and 54 can be stacked verticallywithout unduly compressing the food product on the bottom of the stack.Perch 50 is aligned with openings in the grid of wall 26 to protrudethrough these openings when the walls 24 and 26 are brought together asshown in FIG. 3B. In this Figure thinner food products 56 and 58 areshown between the walls 24 and 26.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a commercial cooking apparatus isillustrated, which is an alternate to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Theillustrated apparatus is substantially larger and has fourteen bays.This apparatus has an overall length of 30 inches (76 cm), an overallwidth of 15 inches (38 cm), and an overall height of 16 inches (40.6cm). In this embodiment, components having structure or functionssimilar to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 have the same referencenumbers but increased by one hundred.

Here, pot 110 is in the form of a ceramic container mounted inside asheet metal shell. The flow 111 of the ceramic container of pot 110 isslanted to drain towards outlet valve 160. Pot 110 has a lid 114 with aninlet 162 shown fitted with a funnel 164, for filling the pot 110. Lid114 is attached to pot 110 by hinges 166. Thus, lid 114 can be swungabout the hinges 166 by lifting lid 114, using handles 118.

The front of pot 110 has an inspection window 168. This inspectionwindow is relatively narrow and extends from the top of pot 110 downabout one quarter the height of the pot. Window 168 is used to view thelevel 170 of the fluid inside pot 110. The fluid level 170 is shownsufficiently high to almost reach the underside of the blocks 148.

Each of the fourteen bays of pot 110 is shown with a support assemblyincluding a support plate 120 with a strap 122, which can connected to alifting handle (not shown). As before, support plate 120 has mountedbelow it a block 148 with an arcuate slot to support a movable wall 126.Again, a fixed wall 124 is mounted between the blocks 148 to theunderside of support plate 120. Fixed wall 124 is shown with a number ofperches 150 to hold food products 172. Walls 124 and 126 are againdesigned to have a variable spacing that can be changed by clamping theupper edge of movable wall 126 in the block 148.

In this embodiment, each of the support panels 120 has a timer 174. Eachtimer can be set for a predetermined time interval. This time intervalis set depending upon the type of food being cooked. When the timeinterval elapses, a ready light 176 is illuminated. While individualtimers and ready lights are illustrated, in alterante embodiments asingle timer and ready light may be mounted on the lid 114 to serve allof the bays. Such an arrangement assumes that all the bays will beloaded and unloaded simultaneously.

To facilitate an understanding of the principles associated with theforegoing apparatus, its operation will be briefly described inconnection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 (although the operationof the other embodiment will be similar). In operation, pot 10 will befirst filled with a cooking fluid. Preferably, the pot 10 will be filledwith a water-based sauce. This reduces the fat content of the food, incomparison to food that is cooked in an oil-based sauce. The internalheaters are then electrically powered to heat the sauce in pot 10. Whenthe sauce is sufficiently hot (depending upon the type of food to becooked) the support assemblies can be loaded with foodstuffs.

The assembly in each of the bays 16 can be lifted by means of handle 22.Next the knobs 42 are loosened (but need not be removed) to free thewall 26 from the blocks 28. Consequently, wall 26 can be swung away fromwall loaded against wall 24 and then wall 26 can be swung into back intoa closed position. Specifically, the threaded end 40 of shaft (FIG. 2)can be slid back into arcuate slot 32. Shaft 36 is then pushed towardwall 24 to grip the foodstuffs between the walls with an appropriateamount of force. As shaft 36 is adjusted, the floor 44 swings asillustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. During this adjustment the walls 24 and26 remain parallel. Once properly set, the knobs 42 are tightened toclamp shaft 36 in position.

Once loaded, the support assemblies can be lifted by means of handles 22and placed in the appropriate bay 16. This process is repeated for eachof the bays until each is loaded with the food to be cooked. It will beappreciated that not all bays need to be loaded with food in everycooking session.

The user will allow an appropriate amount of time to elapse so that thefood inside pot 10 will be sufficiently cooked. Because the food isimmersed in very hot liquid, there will be thorough cooking andelimination of bacteria. Also, where the hot liquid inside pot 10 iswater-based, the fat content of the foodstuffs between walls 24 and 26will be reduced by the leaching of fat into the liquid inside pot 10.

The food can be unloaded by lifting the support assemblies by means ofthe handles 22. The movable walls 26 can be freed by loosening the knobs42. As before, the wall 26 can swing away from block 28 and wall 24 toallow the food to fall out of the assembly. The process can be completedby closing wall 26 (either with or without a new load of uncooked food)by sliding shaft 36 back into slot 32 of block 28 and clamping the shaftby tightening knob 42. Then the assembly can be replaced in the bay 16,again using the handle 22.

The operations with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 aresimilar. This latter embodiment, however, has additional features suchas the timer 174, which operates the ready light 176. Also, thetemperature of the cooking fluid can be established by a thermostatregulating the heater coils 178. Moreover, since the walls 124 and 126are taller, more foodstuffs can be placed between them. In thisembodiment, two rows of perches 150 are employed to allow three rows offoodstuffs. In addition, the cooking fluid inside pot 110 can be quicklydrained daily by opening drain valve 160. The following day, the cookingfluid can be quickly added by filling pot 110 through opening 162 usingfunnel 164. The filling can be controlled by observing level 170 throughwindow 168. Window 168 can be examined periodically throughout the dayto refill pot 110 if necessary due to evaporation or migration ofcooking fluid into food products that are subsequently removed.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be implementedwith respect to the above described, preferred embodiments. Instead of athreaded rod clamped by a knob, other embodiments may employ a series ofnotches for holding the shaft, or other types of holding mechanisms.While a grid is shown for the parallel walls, alternative walls mayinclude sheet metal with perforations or slots. In still otherembodiments, one of the walls may be imperforate. Also, the floor of thefood supporting assembly may in some embodiments be perforated, beformed of a grid, or have some alterante structure. While keeping thewalls that hold the food parallel is desirable, in some embodiments onemay allow the walls to converge or diverge, especially for irregularlyshaped food products. In some embodiments the cooking fluid may beheated by other means, such as a combustion source.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

We claim:
 1. Apparatus for cooking foodstuffs in a pot with a heater,comprising: at least one support assembly adapted to rest atop said pothold said foodstuffs at said heater, said support assembly including: apair of walls, each dependently mounted from said support assembly, saidwalls facing each other and being spaced apart an adjustable amount; anda floor structure hinged to and spanning said pair of walls; and anadjustable one of said walls being spatially adjustable to move,relative to the other one of said walls: (a) together and down, or (b)apart and up, whereby one of said walls can be made lower in elevationthan the other one of said walls at least one member attached to atleast one of said walls and coupled between said walls for adjustablysetting the relative position of said pair of walls by establishingeither: (a) a first motion incorporating both a converging and asideward movement of said walls or (b) a second motion that is thereverse of the first motion.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 whereinat least one of said walls comprises a grid.
 3. Apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein each of said walls comprise a grid.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein one of said walls is affixed in saidsupport assembly.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one of saidwalls is affixed and the other one of said walls is spatially adjustablein said support assembly.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein saidfloor structure is hinged to fold up toward one of said walls as thewalls approach each other.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 whereinsaid floor is hinged to become level perpendicular to the walls as thewalls reach a maximum separation.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 6wherein said floor structure comprises sheet metal.
 9. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said support assembly comprises: a memberwith an arcuate slot, said adjustable one of said walls being adjustablymounted in said arcuate slot.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9 whereinthe adjustable one of said walls has an upper peripheral rod slidablymounted in said arcuate slot of said member.
 11. Apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein said support assembly comprises: a spaced pair ofmembers each with an arcuate slot, the adjustable one of said wallshaving an upper peripheral rod slidably mounted in the arcuate slot ofeach of said members.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 11 1comprising:at least one member having an arcuate slot, the adjustable one of saidwalls having a peripheral rod slidably mounted in the arcuate slot ofsaid member; and a clamping means for releasably holding said peripheralrod in position in the arcuate slot of said member.
 13. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein a first one of said walls is fixed in saidsupport assembly, and the other one of said walls is spatiallyadjustable to move, relative to the first one of said walls: (a) downand together and away from said support assembly, or (b) up and apartand toward said support assembly.
 14. Apparatus according to claim 1comprising: at least one perch attached to one of said walls above saidfloor for supporting foodstuff above said floor.
 15. Apparatus accordingto claim 14 wherein that one of said walls supporting said perch isfixed in said support assembly.
 16. Apparatus according to claim 1wherein said at least one support assembly comprises a plurality ofsupport assemblies, said pot heater being sized to allow said pluralityof support assemblies to rest atop said pot heater simultaneously. 17.Apparatus according to claim 16 comprising: a lid on said pot heaterhaving a plurality of parallel slots sized to separately receive theplurality of support assemblies.
 18. Apparatus according to claim 17wherein said lid is hinged to said pot heater.
 19. Apparatus accordingto claim 16 comprising: a heater device mounted in said pot heater forheating fluid in said pot heater.
 20. Apparatus according to claim 19wherein said heater comprises a pot has having a viewing window forvisually inspecting fluid level in said pot.
 21. Apparatus according toclaim 19 wherein said heater comprises a pot has having a drain fordraining fluid in said pot.
 22. Apparatus according to claim 21 whereinsaid pot has a fill port for adding fluid to said pot.
 23. Apparatusaccording to claim 21 wherein said pot has a pair of handles forcarrying said pot.
 24. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein saidsupport assembly has a handle for carrying said support assembly.